Page 542 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 20 February 2019
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to have a real commitment from this government about when, where or how this facility will actually be constructed.
Noting the ongoing issues with the community facilities and feasibility studies relating to Woden, in 2013 and 2016 feasibility studies promised a community hub. Six years on and we now have Minister Steel making promises yet again about a community hub for Woden. In fact, in the Canberra Times on 18 October last year Mr Steel stated:
Woden is the only Canberra town centre without a dedicated, fit-for-purpose community centre.
Whilst that contradicts Ms Orr’s motion, I think that instead of Ms Orr being wrong, Mr Steel is just ill-informed. The idea of building a community facility in Gungahlin is, in fact, something that has been raised and pushed by the community for a long time. We do not need a scoping exercise to understand that there is a lack of meeting rooms and spaces, halls and venues for local community groups, let alone a range of other community assets.
A simple conversation with any local from the outer north would tell you that there are only a handful of venues for a population of almost 80,000, a population that will reach 100,000 by 2025. This is a fact reaffirmed by the Gungahlin town centre planning refresh, which was released in only November last year. This latest report is meant to fix some of this government’s poor planning decisions that have left the Gungahlin town centre in such a mess. These problems include: building heights and character; upgrading public space; walking, cycling and road transport; and, of course, community facilities.
Madam Speaker, allow me to remind you of the recommendations regarding community facilities in this report. They include retaining the Territory Plan’s existing requirement for six hectares of community facility zoned land. The recommendations include that community facility uses possibly include education establishment, religious associated uses, a community activity centre, a community theatre or a cultural facility. It was also recommended that there be a review of the location of community facility land within the Gungahlin east precinct to potentially support the opportunities presented by light rail.
Madam Speaker, it appears that the business case has already, in part, been written. In fact, the report also includes a map of where the site could be. Let us not forget that this latest report follows extensive navel gazing by this government, following the failure of their 2010 town centre planning report. I am not sure how many studies or reports need to tell us something we already know and something the government have already indicated they would deliver.
Every single resident in the outer north knows about the pain associated with this government’s poor planning. They build houses first and then try to retrofit infrastructure. That is why we believe that, rather than more studies and reports, this government should commit funds and get on with the business of providing public
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